Chicago Bulls vs. Toronto Raptors: 2025‑26 Rivalry Expands Beyond the Court

When the Chicago Bulls, one of the NBA’s most iconic teams of all time, come up against the Toronto Raptors, Canada’s only team in the league, you know the clash is going to be close. The long-term stats suggest the two teams are relatively well matched. In the 110 times the two sides have met in the regular season, the Bulls have come out on top 61, whereas the Canadians have brought home the points in the remaining 49. In fact, in their very first season, the Raptors were one of the few teams to beat the Bulls.

But on-court rivalries aren’t the only type to exist in the NBA. Both teams have loyal fan bases that pull out all the stops to support their teams. Below is a look at how fans interact between games, how the Raptors’ and Bulls’ fans behave, and the most popular sites they use to follow their teams.

The online and offline interaction of fans between games

The NBA itself has had a big hand in encouraging fans to interact with each other, as it seeks to develop a sense of community between fans and encourage NBA viewers to engage with the sport. The NBA app is one way of doing this. Features such as Moments, which draws on the success of TikTok and Instagram and showcases short vertical videos that fans can comment on and share, is one example. The organization also shares player interviews, game highlights, and courtside reactions on social media to encourage interaction from fans.

Sports betting at sites such as OLG Ontario is another way fans engage with the NBA and each other, by discussing games and players and sharing betting tips and strategies. OLG Ontario has a strong reputation in the online casino sector and are building a name for themselves with sports betting. They enable fans to gather together to follow games, wager on games while they’re taking place (in-play betting), and see if their predictions are correct. You can learn more about OLG Ontario, which is widely regarded as the best online casino in Ontario, by visiting Casino.ca for a trustworthy review.

The behavior of fans

Both teams have loyal fans who would walk to the end of the Earth and back for their heroes.

The Bulls’ fans

The Bulls, and Chicago teams in general, have the most loyal fans in basketball. They’ve stayed with their team through six seasons of failure, commented the club’s chairperson Jerry Reinsdorf in an interview, and are still cheering them on. The club understands that if a club plays hard, the fans will stay loyal.

One measure of this is their attendance at Chicago Bulls games. In the 10 years following star player Michael Jordan’s departure, the average attendance of fans was 20,891 per game. This was the top club for attendance in the NBA, where the average attendance per game was 16,437 fans among the other clubs in that era. Fast forward to the 2023/24 season, and the club still had the highest home attendance per game.

Bulls’ fans get out onto the road plenty and travel to games, too. Online commentators have noted how there are several cities that have specific bars or restaurants will congregate in.

The Raptors’ fans 

Raptors fans are energetic, loyal, and deeply connected to their team. Their passion fills every arena, creating an electric atmosphere that pushes players to excel. Known for unwavering support through highs and lows, they celebrate community, diversity, and pride. Raptors fans embody true dedication and elevate the spirit of the game.

Internet usage

The Michael Jordan era really helped to build the brand, and, despite the team’s failures, the Bulls are still hugely popular. They remain one of the top five NBA teams with the biggest followings on social media: no 2 following on Facebook, and no 4 on Instagram and Twitter. They have more than 45 million fans across their platforms and, as of August 2024, had the highest TikTok engagement rate of any team in seven North American pro leagues.

For all their pessimism, the Raptors fans are largely sticking with their team. As of April 2024, the Raptors were recorded with 2.57 million likes on their Facebook page and 2.58 million on their X (formerly Twitter) account, according to data on the website of consumer and market data company Statista. Observers noted, however, that the team’s social media following had gone down slightly from earlier that year.

The Bulls vs the Raptors is always a mouthwatering clash for basketball fans, and the two teams have amassed loyal fans, many staying fiercely so even if they suffer in their different ways. Whenever the Raptors and Bulls meet, the fans can expect the side to be evenly matched. In fact, the Raptors, in their first season, were one of the few sides to beat the Bulls, who were a real force at that time.

The post Chicago Bulls vs. Toronto Raptors: 2025‑26 Rivalry Expands Beyond the Court appeared first on ChiCitySports.